Understand the costs of delivering local services

Glossary of terms

Asset management terms - Income from the sale of capital assets. Such income may only be used for purposes authorised by regulations under Local Government Act 2003, for example to repay loan debt and to finance new capital expenditure.

Fixed assets - Assets that yield benefits to the local authority and the services it provides for a period of more than one year.

Operational assets - Are fixed assets held and occupied, used or consumed by a local authority in the direct delivery of those services for which it has either a statutory or a discretionary responsibility

Non-operational assets - Are tangible fixed assets held by a local authority but not directly occupied, used or consumed in the delivery of services. Examples of non-operational assets are investment properties and assets that are surplus to requirements, pending sale or redevelopment.

Net book value - The net book value of an asset is its original value net of any accounting adjustments for example such as depreciation.

Community assets - These are operational assets that the local authority intends to hold in perpetuity and they may have restrictions on their disposal, for example parks and historic buildings.

Council dwellings -These are operational assets including housing units, but excluding non-residential items such as car parking spaces and shops accounted for in the HRA, sheltered housing, and related fixed equipment, furniture and plant, which should be accounted for under the relevant non-dwelling heading if material.

Other land and buildings: Education - Operational assets used in the provision of education services, such as schools and colleges.

Vehicles, plant, furniture and equipment - Operational assets that are not a fixture or fitting to a building.

Infrastructure assets - Operational assets including facilities required to enable other developments to take place (e.g. roads, street lighting) together with coast defences and similar environmental structural works.

Other land and buildings: other - All other operational assets accounted for other than in the HRA, including residential units, and equipment, furniture and plant fixed to those buildings. An example would be council offices.

Investments properties - Non-operational assets held by the authority (and not the pension fund) for investment purposes only and which cannot be classified as any other type of asset.

Other - Includes all other non-operational assets, such as assets that are surplus to requirements, pending sale or redevelopment.